Sunday 16 October 2016

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Sunday 16 October 2016

The month of near-daily group lessons has been interesting, as I hoped it would be. It’s a small group because of the time of year, usually about five of us, which makes the whole thing very sociable and good fun. Plenty of light relief to counter the frustrations of any poorly executed shots, of which there are not a few.

Following lessons on a variety of techniques, including being subjected to the ignominy of watching videos our swings (not a pretty sight in my case), we went out on the course yesterday and tested our skills in a number of situations. Despite the practice we have had, I was distinctly out of sorts and was pretty much incapable of anything other than comedy golf. Ah well, there are plenty more lessons to come in the rest of this month.

I played last Sunday with my fellow Chilworth senior, Jim E., who has been covering himself in glory in recent times, his latest achievement being to win through to the final of the summer knockout competition. He doesn’t fancy his chances against his opponent, but I have a sneaking feeling he could spring a surprise as long as he concentrates on playing his own game, which is a good one.

On Tuesday the aforesaid seniors had a team game, that old favourite the Texas scramble. Jim and I were in the same team, along with another strong player, so we fancied our chances on the first tee, only to find our confidence ebbing away, as it became increasingly clear that none of us was on a good day. But the sun was shining, and, after all, it’s only a game.

Something interesting came out of one of our recent group lessons, when Ray turned up with a bunch of clubs bought for a tenner on eBay. Among them was a near decade old square driver (remember them?), a John Letters T2 13 degree model, which I decided to try out. I was quite stunned when I found I could hit it straighter, higher and longer than any other similar club I have ever picked up. A key factor seemed to me to be the grip on the club, which was larger, softer and less tapered than what is regarded as standard and which offered the most natural and comfortable grip on a club I have ever experienced. Later I spoke to Chris, the pro who is the club technician, and we are going to look into the world of midsize and non-tapered grips. There’s always another straw to grasp at, and thank goodness for that.

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2 thoughts on “Sunday 16 October 2016”

That is interesting you hit that driver better! I don’t have particularly large hands and I use a mid-size grip. For no other reason than it just feels more comfortable in my hand. I’ve never tried a non-tapered grip though. Sounds like this could be a positive discovery for you!